


The Patron Saint of Lost Causes

by HolleringHawk65



Series: The Batman They Got [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Batman!Jason, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Jason does work at a café, M/M, Tim is in a wheelchair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 03:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7918075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolleringHawk65/pseuds/HolleringHawk65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim always tries, but sometimes even he has a tipping point. Jason just wishes he could be there for him like he used to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Patron Saint of Lost Causes

Jason is working the counter when the door opens and he hears the familiar sound of wheels hitting the bumps of the entryway. He looks over and sees Tim coming in, dressed in a suit. He almost says “ _Hey, Baby Bird, how are you?_ ” but he catches himself.

“What can I get you?” he asks instead. Tim looks up at him, not a single hair out of place. His eyes are inquisitive and Jason wonders if he can tell that he’s Batman just by his undisguised voice and his build.

His eyes snap to the board and he stares at it for a moment. “Um.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I’ve been up for all night.” He doesn’t look like it, but apparently this world’s Tim was just as good with hiding things as the one from the Other Life. “I really just need something that’ll keep me awake. At the very least, until my boyfriend gets here.” He checked his watch and sighed. “Which should be any second.”

“I’ll make it quick,” Jason tells him. He makes his Tim’s favorite guilty pleasure drink; a cotton candy frappuccino, loaded with sugar and whipped cream, but no coffee because it actually made him sick.

He hands it to Tim, who hands him a $20 with a weary smile.

A minute later the door opens and a whirlwind in a cop uniform comes in. “Hey, can I get a large black coffee?”

“Sure thing.” He didn’t realize his heart would skip a beat at seeing Dick for the first time in months. He looks so healthy and rested and-

“Apparently, the Avengers are taking Batman in, because we got an email saying to stop trying to take him in. Can you believe it? This guy is-”

“Good morning,” Tim cuts in, sounding a little petulant that he wasn’t even addressed before Dick launched into his spheel. Jason sees that Dick looks more than a little shocked that he was interrupted in the first place.

“Good morning,” Dick says, over his shoulder, as he takes his cup of coffee from Jason. “I just. I’m so angry. He’s been breaking the law, they _all_ break the law in some way or other, and you know the saying; fight fire with fire and the whole world burns.”

Jason wants to throw something. How could _Dick_ , of all people, say that? What had happened to this Dick to make him so bitter?

Tim sighs and without even looking, Jason knows that he’s rubbing at his temples. “He hasn’t killed anyone, there hasn’t been any major property damage; he’s a lot better than those villains. I’m sure that he’s going to be a valuable asset to the Avengers.”

Dick gets up quickly, his chair scraping against the floor. “Whose side are you even on, Tim?” He turns around and walks out.

Tim doesn’t do anything for a moment before he sets his cup on the table. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason could see that his hands were shaking as he says “he didn’t even notice.”

He looks over at Tim. He had seen him, just two nights before, when he had silently checked in on him before ending patrol.

His hair isn’t any different, he doesn’t have on any kind of makeup, the clothes he’s wearing don’t look new, he doesn’t look tired, he isn’t wearing any jewelry-

Jason looked at Tim’s hands and saw the faintest tan line on his left ring finger.

It hit Jason like a freight train as he realized why Tim had come to the café instead of going home to get some much needed rest.

He had planned to break up with Dick.

\---

“Is something wrong?” Steve asks. They had a habit of meeting up on a roof in the same general area. “You seem off.”

“Are you just realizing that? I’m always off.” He meant it to come off playful, but the instant the words fall from his mouth, he knows that they didn’t. “Why did you tell the GCPD to leave me alone?”

“You don’t deserve to be harassed for doing good things.”

Jason doesn’t say anything. He looks out at Gotham, at his beautiful city, glowing through the fog. He thinks about his Other Life and how there had been a time when he would be going around, killing people. “I haven’t always.”

A silence between them falls for a few minutes before Steve puts a hand on his shoulder. “Nobody’s always good.”

It makes him feel a little bit better to hear it from someone else’s mouth for once.

\---

Jason’s half asleep when he gets home, so tired that he just strips out of the suit, puts it away, and falls onto his unmade bed.

“Jason? Can you hear me?”

He cracks an eye open and sits straight up when he sees Tim. He’s all different shades of blue, but it certainly looks like Tim. “Tim? Is that really you?”

He nods, reaching out to touch Jason. His fingers are ice cold, but solid, so solid. “I’m going to get you back, Jaybird.” He looks like he’s going to say something else, but suddenly the image is gone.

In the morning, Jason’s not sure if what he’d seen had been a dream or not.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear that there's going to be more Marvel characters in the next installment!


End file.
